Spiral Stays Atop Quiet Domestic Box Office, But Bigger Weekends Loom

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Spiral Stays Atop Quiet Domestic Box Office, But Bigger Weekends Loom

The Saw sequel/reboot Spiral stayed atop the box office in its second weekend with a mediocre $4.55M three-day haul (-48%) to bring its domestic total to $15.8M. Per Deadline, that number was enough to put the Saw franchise entire over $1 billion mark cumulatively after nine films.

Despite yet another slow box office, analysts are projecting stronger weekends ahead. In fact, this Friday sees the release of the anticipated thriller A Quiet Place Part II, starring Emily Blunt and John Krasinski, and Disney’s 101 Dalmatians prequel Cruella, starring Emma Stone. The former is projected to rake in $40-50M over the four-day Memorial holiday based on advanced ticket sales, which, according to Fandango, are nearly double what they were pre-pandemic when the film was scheduled to release in March 2020. So far, the sequel has a strong 92% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, which bodes well for its longevity.

Likewise, Variety reports that Cruella may earn $30-40M in its opening frame as well, setting up quite Memorial Day slugfest.

Such numbers would also be a good sign for films such as Universal’s F9, which is already doing solid business overseas — $162M in eight markets, including $135M from China — ahead of its planned June 25 domestic release. The action sequel starring Vin Diesel has already beaten Godzilla vs. Kong to become the highest opening film worldwide in the pandemic era. You could say the box office entire has come full circle as F9 was one of the first films to bump its release date in the wake of COVID.

It’ll be interesting to see how F9 fares domestically in a few weeks, and whether the upcoming Memorial weekend can push the box office closer to normalcy.

1.) Spiral (LG) 2,991 theaters (+180), Fri $1.4M/Sat $1.9M/Sun $1.2M/3-day $4.55M (-48%), Total: $15.8M Wk 2

2.) Wrath of Man (UAR) 3,007 theaters, Fri $818K/Sat $1.28M/Sun $834K/3-day $2.9M (-21%), Total: $18.8M Wk 3

3.) Those Who Wish Me Dead (WB) 3,379 theaters (+191), 3-day $1.8M (-35%), Total: $5.5M/Wk 2

4.) Raya and the Last Dragon (Dis) 2,375 theaters (+90), Fri $414K/Sat $725K/Sun $523k/ 3-day: $1.66M (-2%), Total: $48.3M Wk 12

5.) Godzilla vs. Kong (WB/Leg) 2,552 theaters (+68), 3-day: $1.43M (-6%), Total: $96.9M/Wk 8

6.) Demon Slayer (Fun/Ani) 1,800 theaters (-130), Fri $368K/Sat $558,5K/Sun $403,5K/3-day $1.33M (-32%), Total: $44.9M Wk 5

7.) Mortal Kombat (New Line/WB), 2,386 theaters (-79) / 3-day $935K (-30%), Total: $41.2M Wk 5

8.) Scoob! (WB, re) 2,500 theaters 3-day $850K Wk 1

9.) Dream Horse (BST) 1,254 theaters, Fri $260,7K/Sat $330,2K/Sun $253,2K/3-day: $844,2K Wk 1

10.) Finding You (RSA) 1,447 theaters (+135), Fri $215K/Sat $285K/Sun $171K/3-day: $670K (-27%), Total: $1.9M Wk 2